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Hindus and Muslims in Pakisan

I opened my eyes in a Hindu village but grew up with Muslims whose families had migrated after wars. I was never told by my parents that if someone is a Muslim, and I should not be friends with them.

The only thing which was a norm was to marry within the same religion. My family is one of the oldest families of our village and that is why I have been part of all the events and decisions of the village.

I remember our family put the first brick of the mosque in our village and to show unity, the Muslim community renovated our temple.

My children and I always celebrate Eid, my wife cooks tasty sweet food for their friends. On Divali, the Muslim children come in our courtyard to play with firecrackers.

My daughters and daughter-in-law are very good at applying Mehndi so our house gets crowded on Chand raat. I have never seen a cow getting slaughtered on Eid in Tharparkar. To perform the ritual, our Muslim friends limit themselves to goats.

I love my village, the unity between the people here and our love for each other’s religion. For me, this is heaven.